Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
by BetweenDreamsAndReality
Summary: Matthew, heir to the Western Atlantic throne, is captured by the Eastern Altanic King. What they never expected was to fall in love at a time of warring. Mermaid AU. Main pairings: Franada and Usuk. ON TEMPORARY HIATUS!
1. Part I

Welcome dearest readers to Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea. Wow, that is a moutful. I know, you are probably thinking: what is with all of these new stories? Let me just answer that with the fact that I have no life and I love a challenge. I really, really, love to write different things. So why not a merpeople (to be politically correct) AU? We need more stories about mermaids anyways! What is so bad about that: oh right, because I am in the middle of a thousand different stories. Urg. Okay, so there are seven kingdoms (representing the seven seas) consisting of: Eastern Atlantic, Western Atlantic, Eastern Pacific, Western Pacific, Arctic, Antarctic and Indian. There is going to be a focus on the Atlantics, but I bet you already guessed that seeing the pairings. Now that I am done rambling, please enjoy!

Warnings: Strong language.

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia.

* * *

"Come on!" Alfred called swimming farther up to the surface, with his older brother swimming nervously behind him.

"Are you _sure_ we should be doing this? It is getting late and Dad wanted us for a war meeting," Matthew explained cautiously. The two were the only heirs to the Western Atlantic Sea Kingdom and their father, of course, was the King. That meant they never really had leisure time to wander around the ocean carelessly with meetings and lessons that normal merpeople did not have to attend to. And the times that they did have free time, they had to be escorted by one of the kingdom's guards which usually ended up in a visit to the town for an errand. This was only for protective measures from their father, as they were currently warring with the Eastern Atlantic Sea Kingdom. But today was different. Today was one of the rare days when their father sent them off so they don't annoy him or possibly embarrass him, mostly Alfred, in front of the other royals. "What if we see a hum-human?" he asked choking on the last word in an attempt to stay away from the surface. He has only heard stories about the surface, seeing merpeople were prohibited to go to the surface. But it is not like anyone actually listened to those rules.

Alfred scoffed "nonsense. I've been up to the surface plenty of times that Dad didn't know about, and I've never seen a human." He thought about all of the times he had the warm sun beat down on his golden hair and tanned skin, a sensation the cold murky water could never deliver.

"That's because you had Arthur with you," he deadpanned although he continued to follow his brother's sapphire tail like a trail of bubbles.

Alfred blushed and swam, dazed, in circles. Quickly, he recovered by asking "so?"

"He's very knowledgeable," he explained shielding his eyes from the sun's streaming rays. The two had almost made it to the surface, but had yet to break the waterline.

"Okay, I'll go first and show you how easy it is," Alfred said before bobbing his head above the water and ripples circled around him, practically welcoming him. The hot breeze of June dried his tanned cheeks as he smiled at the golden sun.

Matthew inhaled shakily. "O-okay," he said shakily before breaking the waterline and gaped. The sky was painted from every color from gleaming gold to incandescent indigos with a yellow orb falling slowly among the horizon.

"Isn't it just beautiful?" Alfred said with a sigh gazing innocently at the sky. "Artie said this is called sunset, whatever that means. But he said what follows sunset is even more breathtaking. Miniature lantern like orbs fill the black sky! I've always wanted to see it, but that is past our curfew." The picture engulfed Alfred's mind, desiring to someday see the orbs of light. "When I'm King, I will allow anyone to see the lights!"

Matthew rolled his eyes at his younger brother. Even though he was the older one, he never wanted to be King, perchance. Even from birth, their father chose Alfred as future King. "Always the dreamer, now aren't you?"

"Hey, a merman can dream," he said outstretching his arms in a feeble attempt to touch the sky.

Matthew tugged on Alfred with awareness finally reaching him. "I know this is beautiful and all, but do you mind if I go back under, eh?"

His younger brother chuckled. "You were like me the first time I came above the surface, so naïve."

He pouted with his arms crossed angrily over his bare, wet chest. "Whatever. I am not going to get in trouble for your fascination with the human world!"

"Fine," Alfred agreed foully following his brother's amethyst tail back to their Kingdom. The Kingdom was located many thousands of fathoms below the waterline. A few Kingdoms were found once or twice, but only ruins. The humans kept claiming they found some city called Atlantis, whatever that meant, when it is nothing more than abandoned cities of merpeople.

"And where do you think you two are going?" a cold voice asked. His heavy, seductive accent blatantly belonged to the Eastern Atlantic Sea Kingdom. There were only around five of them, but it still outnumbered the brothers.

The two brothers cringed upon realization they were being hunted, or at least followed. It was a better predicament than a run in with humans. That would not have ended well. There were legends that humans would hold creatures of the sea hostages in clear tanks for enjoyment or eaten, which was utterly cruel.

The two began to swim away as fast as they possibly could. "Come on Mattie, faster!" Alfred cried to the dark ocean below, scared to look up to see if his brother was captured or not.

"Let go of me!" Matthew struggled as he was wrapped around a black net that human fishers used.

The leader of the group held up his hand with a devious smile plastered on his face. "Well, well, what do we have here? Prince Matthew of the Western Atlantic Sea Kingdom."

Tears bloated his eyes as he shouted "I command you to let me out!"

The group threw back their heads and laughed the same intolerable laugh. "Spunky, isn't he?"

"King Francis will have fun with you later," the leader said with a devious smile and hauling him back to the Eastern Atlantic Sea Kingdom's Capitol: Paris.

When the Kingdom was back in sight, Alfred turned around to see the hunters were no longer after him anymore, although Matthew had yet to join him. "Matthew?" he called to the dark ocean in a panic.

Silence. Not even a ripple or bubble in the shadowy sea.

His brother, gone? And worst of all, he was all to blame. "Mattie!"

_TBC...? _

* * *

Author's Notes: I feel like this story is so confusing so I might end up scrapping the idea completely. Urg. It will probably be short, anyways. There's not much to write, it seems all too predictable. Urg. As much as I love writing, creating AU after AU is quite tedious. I might just stick to one story, if I have to. Or not (that is my go to phrase). **If you get a chance, please review, I would really appreciate it to know if I should continue or not. **Please follow my tumblr betweendreamsandrealityy, with two Ys for updates. Ugh, I have no idea what I am going to type up next. Please, give me suggestions! Until next chapter, if there is one.


	2. Part II

I hope you are all not _too_ confused with this AU. Because, frankly, it is confusing me. *Sigh* AUs are hard to write. Okay so the Western and Eastern Kingdom have been fighting for a very long time, so long that they forgot the reason. A.K.A. I haven't thought of a reason because I am lazy. And kidnapping one of Princes' just adds on more reason to be fighting against each other. I am not sure if this is my final chapter before I go away or not. Urg. I hope you enjoy it anyways...

BeeBee Forthwright: Thank you, and your wish is my command! I will try to have chapter three up shortly, if I can.

Axsics: Thank you, and I will try to!

Warnings: Some language.

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia.

* * *

"Alfred?" Arthur asked poking his head into Alfred's bedchamber. His bedchamber was shielded by a stain glass dome and held up by four white marble columns, just as the rest of the castle was designed. Alfred was, currently, moping on his marble slate bed with the tip of his baby blue tail poked out of his azure blanket. "Everybody is waiting for you and Matthew."

Alfred jerked up at the sound of his name, letting the blanket fall to the ground at his tail. "I cannot go out there." He asked himself _how could I face my father like this_.

He smiled with encouragement and swam over to Alfred. He wiped one of his salty tears away with a petite finger and sat behind him on his marble slate bed. "Of course you can. You're the bloody Prince and you have done this multiple times, all flawlessly."

He shook his head letting his golden hair fall into his face. "No, I'm not scared. It's just…"

"Just what?" he asked tilting his head in confusion. _If he wasn't scared then…?_

"I lost Matthew."

His emerald eyes widened and faced paled. "Oh dear, please tell me that is a joke."

"Sadly, it is not." He looked into Arthur's green eyes and asked "what am I supposed to do?"

"Maybe he will find his way back to the castle," Arthur suggested rubbing his soft hands on Alfred's knuckles for comfort. Arthur was always excellent at calming Alfred down, especially in stressful situations. Alfred would almost refuse to go to any event without him there. They were inseparable since the age of thirteen when they were betrothed by their parent's orders. It was quite a young age to be betrothed, but Alfred was a Prince after all.

He looked down at their hands, his eyes following his partner's circular motions. "He was captured."

"By humans?" Arthur asked with panic noticeable in his voice. He had a few run-ins with humans before and thought they were nothing but naughty creatures. But he was somehow fascinated by them. Everything from their odd languages to appearance made Arthur almost envy human culture. Almost being the key word.

He shook his head. "Worse. The Eastern Kingdom."

Arthur sighed knowing that was far worse than being captured by humans. He used to know the Eastern King quite well when they were younger because of their attempts at learning more about the human world. When Arthur was betrothed to Alfred, he was mortified and overall angered, for he loved Arthur with passion that he believed no one else could. "We must tell your father, he will understand the situation and demand the safe return of Prince Matthew. The longer you wait, the more possibility the Eastern Kingdom could harm him."

"Harm him?" Alfred asked thinking of all the possible ways this mysterious King could harm his precious brother.

"I'm afraid so. He is a ruthless leader with no love in his heart," he said solemnly and reached for Alfred's gold crown, with sapphires dotting its fringes.

His face fell into his hands "what am I supposed to do?"

"Tell your father, he will know how to handle this maturely," Arthur said placing the crown atop his golden locks, his obnoxious cowlick still managing to triumph his attempts to flatten it down.

Alfred nodded and pecked Arthur on the cheek as gratitude, making their cheeks both light up. The two swam through the corridor and down the winding turret to the throne room, or at least the entrance to it. "Where have you been all day? I have been worried sick!" his father, the King of the Western Atlantic Kingdom, exclaimed wrapping his strong arms around his son.

He cleared his throat once and looked at Arthur for support. "Uh Dad. About today…"

"Arthur, could you go tell the others that we are ready?" his father asked Arthur, completely ignoring Alfred.

"Of course, your majesty," Arthur stated and swam off, leaving nothing but a trail off bubble behind.

"As I was saying, today Mattie and I-"

"Son, tidy up!" he scolded disregarding his son once more. His hair was a bit disheveled from swimming back to the castle, as well as his bloodshot eyes were outlined with large black circles, and had no time to clean up. "You look like a mess!"

Irritated, Alfred clenched his hands into fists and said "Dad, you're not listening to me!"

"What is it, son?" he fumed.

Alfred winced and looked down at the scales of his blue tail. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing."

He inhaled. "No, please, tell me what you were going to say."

"Well, err…"

"Presenting, his majesty King Charles and his sons Prince Alfred and Prince Matthew."

"Alfred, where is Matthew?"

"That's the thing," he stuttered. "You see…Mattie was err…"

The double doors opened widely for the two and the entire crowd stared at them with vigilant eyes.

"Spit it out, already," he whispered angrily but smiled to the audience as the two walked down the aisle to their thrones.

"Mattie was kidnapped."

"What!" he shouted with his face turning a dark shade of crimson with rage. The entire crowd of merpeople gazed confused at the two, who continued to wave politically. His father whispered back "by whom? Please don't say you two were up at the surface again."

The two reached their designated marble and sapphire encrusted thrones as he explained "actually, it was the Eastern Kingdom."

He whispered "tomorrow I will send out a search party. You will stay here and protect the Kingdom.

"But Dad," he whined. He hated being treated as a child, as he was almost eighteen. He had always wanted to go on an adventure, and what better time than to rescue his brother? He would be deemed the greatest hero in all of the Western Atlantic. What could be better than that?

"No buts," he grumbled. "One day you will rule this Kingdom, and until that day you will do as you are told."

He slumped into his seat and folded his arms across his bare, tanned torso knowing very well that his father was, of course, correct. "Of course, _your majesty_."

* * *

"Remember, you will do everything he requests," a young servant girl explained to Matthew as they approached the King's quarters. She was quite beautiful seeing her blue flowing dress, blue matching tail and chocolate tied back hair with two red ribbons.

He sighed. Instead of being a prisoner to the castle, what better a punishment than a Prince serve another King? "Of course, Angelique," he replied in a monotone voice. Maybe if he was a good enough servant, he could be let free or even find a chance to escape. He would not want to be back in that dungeon again. The dungeon was dimly lit and filled with bottom eaters that tried to eat the scales on his amethyst tail.

He walked into the King's chambers quite horrified. Sleeping on his pearl bed, his gold tail swaying back and forth leisurely, was the King himself. He stepped forward with the tray of food in his hand timidly. "Uh…good morning, your highness."

The King murmured and rolled over in his sleep.

Matthew sighed and poked the King's cheek. Immediately, he swam over to behind a yellow curtain where he hid from the King's raft.

Instead, the King remained silent as if it he was unaware that anyone was even in the room.

He chuckled at himself for his stupidity. He swam back over the to the King's bed in the center of his room. With dismay, the King's blue eyes opened immediately. "Why hello there," he said smooth as silk.

"Oh," Matthew said, tripping over his own tail and food falling on his face. Curse his clumsiness.

"I did not mean to alarm you," he explained and rose from his bed to help Matthew clean up.

"Thank you, but I'm the one who is supposed to clean up here," he said collecting all of the objects onto the tray.

The King chuckled and scanned the man's face. "You are not from around here, are you?"

He shook his head silently. _Oh shit, _he thought to himself and cringed. _Back to the dungeon for me. _

"And why are you a servant here? You are far too beautiful to be serving me."

Matthew blushed and forced a half smile.

"Does this handsome servant have a name?"

"Matthew," he choked, eyes still locked on the King's. There was something odd about him. All of the stories his Father and the Kingdom fed to him and Alfred as a child were all lies. This King was not callous or hideous. In fact, he had a quirky charm to him that Matthew was definitely falling for.

"Mathieu," he repeated and kissed his hand politely. A light blush tinted his cheeks. "I am King Francis of the Eastern Kingdom. How about you escort me tonight to dinner and dancing?"

"I would love to but-"

"Then it is settled! Tonight, I shall take my Mathieu out for dancing."

_His_ Mathieu? Somewhere inside Matthew was telling him not to refute, as he actually found some enjoyment in being the center of attention. "I would enjoy that," he said half-heartedly. Maybe being kidnapped was not as awful as he imagined…

_TBC...? _

* * *

Author's Notes: Long-ish chapter. Or not. It's 2,000 words (including my rants). I like these longer chapter, though. They are totally fun to write, but also quite tedious. Q_Q [Why did I agree to update all of my stories? URG]. Also, the King of the Eastern Kingdom does not realize that Matthew is the Prince of the Western Kingdom, or does he? Hm...I need to mull that over. And there's a little implied FrUk in there, for those of you wondering. Speaking of wondering, I wonder if I should update this story one more time before I actually go away? Yes or no? Or should I even continue? I'm still on the fence about that. Oh well. I guess I am sort-of stuck updating. **Thanks for reviewing ect ect! I love you all XD **I'm all ears (where am I getting these bad sayings from?) for suggestions about the date with Francis or what I should do next. Thanks and farwell~


	3. Part III

Live long and prosper. Okay, I know I am supposed to be on hiatus, but I wrote this in advance in case I had wifi, like I do now! Sorry for the short chapter. There is only one scene, but I just love Franada so much! By the way, if anyone has any suggestions, don't be afraid to comment or PM me. I'm kinda stuck...Urg. I'm speaking to you from the past (hi future self) because my iPod cannot edit these documents. Urg. I honestly do not know how my trip will turn out [but I can bet my American stars and stripes that it is going to be a blast] so I am leaving you with this! Please enjoy chapter 3!

Guest: Those are some of my OTPs too! Yea! Thanks and I will try to update!

Krystal Ravenwing: I hope you enjoy this tail (see what I did there. Neehjdffds). I'll try to get out of my writer's block and buckle down for more chapters.

Warnings: Some language.

Disclaimer: You wouldn't want to know what would happen if I owned hetalia...

* * *

"I feel like an idiot," Matthew grumbled looking into one of the full length mirrors in his new bedroom. His reflection showed himself wearing a golden tunic wrapping around his usually bare chest and a crown of flowers tangled in his golden locks. From afar, he could pass as a mermaid, not a merman.

"You look like one too." He raised a golden eyebrow arch at Angelique as she deadpanned "I am merely kidding."

"Somehow I find that hard to believe," he muttered watching the tunic flow as he swam around the room. His room was quite similar to his old room. A dome roof over his head and columns to hold it up. The only difference was the gold encrusted bed instead of one made of marble. He was definitely in one of the higher ranked rooms. Possibly one that should belong to a Prince or even a ruling partner. "Is this all even necessary?"

She placed a finger to his lip. "Sh. You look gorgeous!"

His purple eyes simply glowered. "You really think so?" Not that he actually wanted to impress the King, perchance. Instead, he wanted to get on his good side. Yes, that must have been why he asked.

Angelique nodded allowing her brown locks to dance beside her. "Now run along. You have a date!" she exclaimed waving him off as if she was his mother.

Matthew sighed before opening the large double doors and swam across the hallway to Francis' room. _I should just run,_ he thought. "Mathieu!" Francis exclaimed opening the doors wide. He looked quite like Matthew, which led him to believe that he was getting the royal treatment, as if he was not already royalty before. Francis was dressed quite pompous in a golden, almost dress like, tunic with a gold crown sitting atop his head. "And look, I brought coral for you from the Eastern Pacific."

"Lovely," Matthew said taking the bouquet of various colored corals and into his petite hands. _Eastern Pacific_? He thought _nobody has ever gone to the Eastern Pacific just for me! _

"Ah, only the best for my Mathieu," he said charmingly.

"That's sweet," Matthew said, his voice cracking slightly. He had never had this much attention at home, especially since he was overlooked by his twin. Or as everyone else called him 'the better brother' in all aspects.

"Well, I bet you are hungry. I know a nice restaurant on the top of theParistower. I hope you are not too mindful of being too close to the surface."

"Not at all," he remarked.

He clapped his hands together cheerfully. "Good. It has the most lovely fish, or if you prefer seaweed or-"

"Fish sounds good," he said small, in an effort to stop Francis' ramblings; even if they were a bit endearing.

Francis smiled. "I knew you would like it! Now come on," he said grabbing Matthew's small hand and dragging him to the restaurant.

Francis was indeed right that the restaurant was close to the surface. Much closer than Matthew ever intended to be after the incident. The tower was shaped similar to the human letter 'A' with industrial style beams holding the structure together in triangle patterns. It was like nothing theWesternKingdomcould compare to. Except maybe the skyscrapers towering the Capitol. But other than that, there was simply nothing as magical. "Two," Francis said holding up two fingers for the host.

"Big brother Francis!" the cheery host exclaimed tackling Francis in a giant hug. He had an odd accent which hailed from theMediterranean Sea. Also, his ginger colored hair had a stray curl sticking out from his left side. "Ve~ and who is your date?"

"This is Mathieu. Mathieu, say hi to Feliciano," he said introducing the two informally.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance," Matthew said bowing politely. _Shit,_ he thought to himself. "Sorry about that," he said small and buried himself into his clothes. _That was obviously Western Kingdom, was it not? _

"Nonsense, that was adorable," Francis encouraged and kissed his hand, flourishing a light blush to tint his pale cheeks.

"So you are from the Western Kingdom! What is it like?" Feliciano asked with a wide grin across his tanned face.

"I'm not from the Western Kingdom. My mother was. I just inherited her accent," Matthew said hastily and recoiled.

"How dare you make such harsh judgments!" Francis said scolding Feliciano with a playful slap to his shoulder. "My Mathieu is far above the uncivilized Western Kingdom!"

"It's okay," Matthew said putting a limp arm around Francis' muscular one. "It is a common mistake."

His cobalt eyes narrowed. "Very well. Feliciano, I would like a nice table for tonight."

"Of course, big brother," he said with a salute and motioned for the two to follow his ruby tail.

"So, is Feliciano really your little brother?" Matthew asked while settling in to his chair. The table was designed in a triangle shape, with a white silk lining printed with a painting of the Paris tower.

He shook his head once. "Related, nonetheless. But who wouldn't want to be related to _me_?" he asked throwing his hands into the air vividly.

_I could name a few,_ Matthew thought silently to himself. "Is it hard to rule a Kingdom?" he asked to make small talk. Actually he was quite curious, since his father would barely give him the time of day anymore.

"Of course, my dear. That is why I am glad you accepted my offer for a date. You see, it is just as stressful as you would imagine, especially because of that silly war with the Western Kingdom."

"Then why not just end the war?" Matthew asked as a subtle hint.

Francis slumped into his seat and shrugged. "I would if I could. That pesky King of theirs refuses to listen. He thinks we are to blame for his grandfather's capture by humans."

_That is certainly not true, _Matthew thought to himself. "Well, we must look beyond our past mistakes."

"That is very wise of you, Mathieu. However, that King has no love in his heart. He is cold and ruthless."

_I wonder who that sounds like,_ he thought to himself. "Does he not have two children? He must care for them."

"That is true. He showers them as if they were treasures. I have never seen either in my life. But I know his older son stole my Arthur away."

_I am the older son! Why does everyone think I am the younger one_, Matthew thought angrily completely ignoring the fact that Francis was bashing his own twin. "That is terrible," he gasped convincingly.

Francis nodded. "I know. And worst of all, he will probably end up ruling alongside that evil Kingdom. And there is nothing I can say to convince him otherwise!" His face fell into his hands and tears rolled down his fair cheeks.

"Francis, please, do not cry," Matthew said cringing at the other's tears out of sympathy.

He patted Matthew's golden locks and sniffled "thank you, Mathieu. I am glad I can always rely on you." There was a pregnant pause before he exclaimed "Mathieu, look, dancing!" Francis pointed to the other merpeople at the middle of the ballroom swaying along to a waltz. "Would you care to join me?" he held out his hand for the other to take.

"I do not know how to dance," he said cowardly not wanting to make a fool out of himself in front of the King.

"Nonsense!" Francis exclaimed and pulled the smaller blonde out onto the wood tiled dance floor alongside the other multihued merpeople. "Now, you just put one hand on my waist and the other in my hand."

Matthew nodded obediently and placed his clammy hand into Francis'.

"There you go," Francis encouraged. "Now, just follow my motions."

Matthew nodded once more, and stared at his tail to make sure he was following his motions correctly. He wouldn't want to fall onto his face or make a mistake in front of Francis.

Francis lifted Matthew's chin and stated "look into my eyes. Your tail will know what to do."

Matthew bit his lip and gazed into Francis' sea blue eyes. After moments of dancing, Francis relaxed and rested his head of Matthew's shoulder. Right now, there was no war, no strife, no Eastern or Western Kingdoms. There was only Matthew and Francis, two merpeople in love.

_TBC...? _

* * *

Author's Notes: I know, you are probably thinking how nobody could fall in love THAT fast. But, it is merely a story and I do not want it to be too long. Maybe ten chapters? Urg. Unless you beg for more...Also, I do not have any clue on the war between the West and East. Any ideas? I just made up some silly thing that Francis believes is the reason, but I need a true and honest reason. It seems stupid to go to war over something so trivial. But then again, humans are the worst punishment of all. By the way, I think my sister found my page. /Sadface/ Lesson learnt: do NOT use her computer and then forget to sign off. Fuck. But she said I was a good writer, even though I am not O_O **Kudos to you wonderful readers and reviewers! **Next chapter might have some more UsUk, or not. Maybe not. I like Franada. Actually, Canada is my favorite character (don't judge me).


	4. Part IV

Greetings lovely readers. Remember this story? Hahahaha sorry for neglecting it. I just could not think of a good chapter for this and then poof! Thank heavens for dreams, even though in a book I am reading it says that 60% of dreams are about traumatic events. So the other 40% must be my OTPs XD But I digress. I think I actually have the entire story in mind, now if I could only find a way to put it in words exactly as I imagined it...Urg. The only hope I have is to write a really crappy smut fanfic and end up hated like the author of '50 Shades of Grey' or whatever it is called. Also if anyone is artistically inclined and wants to draw a cover or fanart for this story, be my guest (I could really use a better cover since I got this one of google images). Enough ranting! I hope you like this short-ish chapter!

Guest 1: I'm also a bit sad that there aren't that many franada AUs and thank you for reviewing~

Guest 2: *blushes* Awww thanks.

Guest 3: I couldn't kill Mattie, he is my favourite character!

Guest 4: Thank you and sorry for putting this story on such a long hiatus but I am back~

Warnings: *Shrugs* it's rated T.

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia.

* * *

"Arthur, may I have a word with you?" a deep voice asked catching the young merman off guard.

Arthur turned around in the slate marble dining room chair to see an older version of Alfred towering over him. "O-of course," he said trying to collect himself. Even after all of the times he spoke directly to Arthur, and even treated him as a part of the family, he still feared the King as any normal citizen would.

King Charles nodded and pulled out a chair next to him. He rested his elbows on the table and whispered "Arthur, I fear for my son."

"Rest assured, your highness, we will find Matthew," he promised contemplating if it was rude to put his hand on his broad shoulder for comfort or not.

He sighed and cupped his chin in his hands. "It is not Matthew I am worried about," he began causing Arthur to raise one of his untamed eyebrows a bit confused. "It is Alfred. I fear that I am getting older."

"What do you mean by that?" Arthur asked obliviously. It was apparent that King Charles was in fact growing elderly. His once golden hairs turned grayer with each passing day and his blue eyes dulled. In addition wrinkles began to form on his once clear skin and his once toned chest was beginning to soften.

"I will not be on the throne for much longer, which is why I am asking you to protect my heir at all costs. Please keep him in the castle at all times and never have him without an escort."

Arthur's eyes widened with his display of affection, even if he did refer to Alfred as 'his heir'. If he were not the King, Arthur would be insulting his plan's flaws. _How could he treat Alfred like this? He wasn't a bloody pet or a possession, _he thought.

However the green eyed blonde replied shakily "of c-course."

"Good. Take care of yourselves while I am gone," he said pushing out the chair from the table to swam off to begin his daily schedule.

"Gone?" Arthur asked swimming alongside the blue tailed King as they exited the dining room and entered the foyer. The foyer was Arthur's third favorite room behind the parlor and the library. The foyer was shaped as a circle in glistening white marble. Spread out through the entire room were corals and sponges in every imaginable color dancing to the water's currents. Six marble columns held up a painted dome depicting the greatest feats and cities of the Kingdom.

"You did not think I would let that stingy Eastern Kingdom keep my son; did you?" King Charles asked with a lighthearted chuckle.

"I would never dream of it."

"Atta boy," he said ruffling Arthur's wiry blonde hair as if he was his own child. "Somebody ought to teach those posh Easterners not to mess with us."

"Sir, why not have the military rescue him?"

He smiled warmly and placed a hand on the younger's shoulder. "Arthur, you have much to learn about royalty. I cannot leave the fate of Matthew in anyone else's hands. I am old and served my time. If I do not come back, please tell Alfred how much I cared for him."

Arthur's eyes widened with fear for his ruler. "Aren't you going to see him before you leave?"

He shook his head letting his short locks fall over his blue eyes. "No. Alfred is too stubborn and would force me to take him along. Besides I cannot bear the pain."

Arthur nodded once. "When will you be leaving?"

"As soon as possible. Arthur, thank you," he stated and pulled Arthur into a tight hug.

Arthur choked out "you're welcome."

* * *

"Oh Angelique," Francis practically sang for his favorite maid in a smooth voice.

Angelique sighed. She was a bit tired from undressing and bathing Matthew last night and was hoping to have some rest before beginning her early morning duties. "Yes-?" she said stopping in her tracks when she stepped into his room. The golden haired King radiated happiness, something she has not seen him act like for a while.

He immediately swam over and grabbed her mocha hands, still in his loosely fitted nightgown. "Oh Angelique. I had a magnificent time last night."

She raised her eyebrows uninterested. "Oh really now? Tell me more," she said sarcastically with a roll of her dark eyes. Ever since she became a maid for Francis, she always dreamt of being the only person he could love. It was a farfetched and cliché fantasy, but a girl could dream a little. After all, Francis would soon get bored of little servant Matthew and move on cyclically.

"We went out for a delightful dinner and I taught him how to dance," he said dragging her around the room in a waltz-like dance.

"Anything else?" she urged, her breathing becoming short and her heart fluttering. She could not believe her childhood lover was dancing with her around his bedroom, just like she had always imagined.

The yellow tailed merman shook his head. "Not yet. I am waiting for that special moment."

She was taken aback by his comment. "Waiting? Francis I think Mathieu put you under some sort of spell," she teased with a giggle.

"Ah, it is called amour."

"Yes, you and your human language," she said with a roll of her dark eyes.

"What is there not to like about the humans? They have their rich language and beautiful sky-that's it!"

"What's it?" Angelique asked as Francis let go of her sweaty hands.

"I will take him to see the étoiles!"

She plopped herself on his slate bed a bit deflated and flattened down her wrinkled blue dress and asked "étoiles?"

"The stars. It is perfect, non?"

Angelique scowled and ran her petite through her brown curls. "Are you sure about this guy? Nobody has even heard of him!"

"Yes, I am positive about my Mathieu," he said running a shiver up his spine. Just saying the merman's name made his heart and face fluster. "Tell Mathieu that I am taking him out tonight but nothing else. Make sure he is wearing something beautiful. I want him to be surprised."

Angelique bit her lip and nodded, tears pricking her brown eyes and wished that he could be saying those words about her. "Yes, milord."

_TBC...? _

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Author's Notes: Poor Seychelles. Why do I always make bad things happen to her? Don't worry, she will get a happy ending...eventually. Also, the ending is a bit dumb. Sorry I majorly rushed. My bff is coming over for a sleepover and I wanted to publish this before she did. *Sighs* I don't really want this story to last _too_ long, given I have 47832910 stories to finish before my school begins and I will be overloaded with music and clubs and work and shit. Maybe only around 15 chapters or whatever. **Thank you for fueling me with your wonderful reviews XD!** Anyways I know I promised some more UsUk but...no. Not yet. /hides/ Sorry. More Franada though. And what is more romantic than stars? Oh right, nothing! I just have so many Franada (and UsUk) feels. Well, that's all from me about this chapter. I hope to see you all soon~


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